


When The Body’s Gone

by idrilhadhafang



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Because Tallissan Lintra Deserved Better, Canonical Character Death, Death of Tallie Lintra, Deathfic, Gen, Mentioned Tallie Lintra, Minor Character(s), Minor Kaydel Ko Connix/Rose Tico, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Wakes & Funerals, Women in Refrigerators, minor Poe Dameron/Kylo Ren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 19:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20569319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: The late funeral for Tallie Lintra.





	When The Body’s Gone

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Explosion
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: I wasn’t happy how Tallie was killed off like nothing in TLJ. Consider this my response. (I’m not forgetting Paige either; I’m thinking of writing something for her in the future)

Bespin was just a place of refuge for all of them. Poe was grateful for that. They hadn’t had time to mourn for everyone who had been killed — from Ackbar to Holdo (and Poe wished that he had had a better farewell line to her than saying that he was relieving her of command. She’d deserved better, in the end) to Paige (and even that realization made Poe almost feel like vomiting), and Tallie...  
  
Tallie. Poe couldn’t say why Tallie came to mind in that moment, but she hadn’t even been mourned. Hadn’t even been mentioned by Larma D’Arcy (though none of the soldiers who had died had been mentioned), the General hadn’t even brought her up. Paige Tico got outrage and a slap in the face — Tallie hadn’t gotten much outrage.   
  
“Hey.” Rose’s voice, jarring Poe out of his thoughts. It was almost a relief, Poe couldn’t help but think. She and Kaydel — who had become close recently — had approached him, looking worried. “You okay?”  
  
“Yeah. It’s...I mean, not to take away from Paige’s death, and the fact I good as killed her — ”  
  
“Paige chose to sacrifice herself,” Rose said firmly. “She went out saving what she loved. And if General Organa thinks she was just a dead hero, she doesn’t know anything about my sister.” A beat. “Paige died on her own terms. And Tallie...stars, she got blown up by Kylo Ren and the General didn’t even mention her...”  
  
“Well, she — ”  
  
“If General Organa isn’t going to care about Tallie, then we’re going to.” Kaydel’s voice cracked as she spoke. “Kriffing Corellian hells — she didn’t even have a chance — ”  
  
Poe nodded. Tallie hadn’t sacrificed herself. She hadn’t even had a chance to. Ren had just blown her up, and why? Even calling it a “tactical strike” didn’t make things better. And realizing Ben did all this — well, that threw a hydrospanner into how Poe felt. It didn’t change the fact Tallie was dead. So many dead at Ren’s hand, at Ben’s hand, and for what? Ben had had a loving family and that apparently wasn’t enough for him —  
  
“How are we gonna have a funeral if we don’t even have a body to bury?” Poe said, almost numbly.   
  
“We’ll find something,” Kaydel said.   
  
***  
  
Jess was at least willing to pitch in. “I have some of her things,” she said. She’d joined up with them all on Bespin, if only to grieve with the others.   
  
Even taking some of them from Jess, Tallie’s flight logs, her old clothes, and more, Poe couldn’t help but think of Tallie. The young farmgirl who had joined up with the Resistance, with an impeccable sense of right and wrong, a courageous attitude, a natural sense of leadership —  
  
A young farmgirl with a brilliant smile and expressive dark eyes. A young farmgirl with affection for all her pilots, no matter who they were.   
  
“That’ll do, Jess,” Poe said. “Thank you.”  
  
“It’s the best we can do,” Jess said. “I mean...what kind of coward attacks someone who hasn’t even had a chance to fight him?”  
  
Poe suppressed his wince. It was worse when Ben was the coward. The man who’d done this. They weren’t getting revenge for Tallie, of course; they were fighting to make sure that the galaxy had a better future.   
  
“Poe,” Jess said, “Are you okay?”  
  
“Fine,” Poe lied. He took a deep breath. "The four of us know why we’re here. Tallie Lintra’s dead, and someone needs to mourn her. Even if no one else will. No matter how they see her. She wasn’t unimportant. Not to us.”  
  
***  
  
Jess, Rose, Kaydel and Poe shared their stories about Tallie, and for a moment, even listening and talking, Poe could swear he could see Tallie’s face — her bright smile, her unique salute that she gave others to let them know she had their back. Tallie, talking with Poe, sharing stories of Blue Squadron’s accomplishments. For a moment, those images seemed so real that Poe almost expected Tallie to walk the balcony of Cloud City with them, like she was alive and her ship hadn’t been destroyed in a blast of TIE Silencer fire.   
  
Jess must have sensed how Poe was feeling, because she didn’t say anything. Just a nod.   
  
Poe nodded back. Tallie wasn’t unimportant. Not to them. Never to them.  
  
And over four glasses of Bespin’s ale, they raised them. "Be well, Tallie,” Rose said, softly. Her hand lightly touched the strange moon necklace as she spoke — she was no doubt hoping that Tallie was with Paige if there was anything beyond for non-Force-users. No doubt flying among the stars. “Dance among the stars.”  
  
“Yeah,” Poe said. He raised his glass. “To Tallissan Lintra — leader, fighter, champion, friend.”  
  
They raised their glasses and drank. And maybe, Poe thought, the pain ended there and the good memories predominated. Tallie’s body was gone — it was good as stardust. But her memories, her actions, long outlived her body, and always would.


End file.
